Thinking of our children’s future. Teach English for kids

Many parents today want to provide their children with the best possible foundation for a safe and secure future. To this end many parents focus on educating their children in all possible areas of study. In this rush to educate children, most parents often overlook one critical aspect i.e. teaching English for kids. Considering English is now the default language of preference all around the world, Education curricula for most children in developing and third world countries often ignores this. Many governments in such countries place the learning of English as secondary or tertiary to learning the country’s national language and other disciplines of study.

This misguided sense of Nationalism results in a population of qualified individuals whose contribution does not reach its full potential as they cannot practice their knowledge in an international setting primarily due to the lack of English comprehension. In particular countries, the problem is further exasperated by the lack of English knowledge amongst those entrusted with teaching English. A lot of children are not taught proper English for kids. Wrong or broken English is taught by teachers who are either not properly educated in the subtleties of the English language and who do not have the proper training. It is futile to assign blame in the matter on Educators who do not have the proper training. Administrators neglect to ensure such teachers are given proper training, and policy makers ignore this need. Educators are resistant to being corrected, and no one party is at fault. It is more a combination of all these that leads to the situation at hand

How can this be rectified? The solution begins at home, with family. As with all learning, the best time to begin is in childhood. Parents are those in a unique position to mould their children and guide them along the path to learning proper English. It is a fact that the child who speaks English in his or her home will be able to learn English faster than a child who does not. Parents should encourage this practice by first making it a point to be speaking English at home themselves. Establish a routine. Perhaps discuss daily matters in the presence of children over meals in English. Have a time set aside for the whole family to speak only English; encourage mistakes, children who are encouraged to learn from their mistakes learn faster than those who are afraid to make mistakes.

The internet places a plethora of resources at hand for Parents who wish to find out more about English for kids. One such valuable resource is English Club TV. Parents can visit www.tv-english.club and watch online programmes that will help them improve their English, as well as that of their children.